Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Discounted Pedicures, Oh Yeah!

Last week, we had some students from Virginia College in Huntsville come and give free 10 minute massages at work and you'd better believe I went straight away to partake in that free relaxation. I'm sure it was good practice for the students and it was fun to have a break that was more than just running the bathroom.

The students (or maybe instructor) brought with them some brochures that listed the prices for massages by the students. After all, the students have to practice what they learn and some poor soul has to be their guinea pig. The prices for massage therapy services were half of what they are at other places in town and so I made a note to schedule one some time in the near future. Let me assure you that when I do schedule that massage, I will properly review it here on the blog so you will know whether or not to go yourself.

Friday night after mowing the lawn, I was thinking that I needed to take off my old toenail polish and slap a fresh coat of lacquer on there, and I do mean slap because if you know anything about the way I paint my toenails, then you know I do not even bother with staying in "the lines". For whatever reason, I thought about the students at Virginia College and how the massage therapy services were so affordable and I wondered if they might offer pedicures as well and so I got on The Google to see if I could find out.

Sure enough, Virginia College does offer cosmetology services, including manicures, pedicures, polish change, make-up and hair services too. I looked up the price list and was pleasantly surprised to see that a pedicure was only $15 and a manicure and pedicure was only $20. I saw that they opened at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and wondered if they took walk-ins or only appointments. So, even though it was 9:30 in the evening, I decided to call in hopes that the answering machine might say whether or not walk-ins were welcome on Saturdays. To my surprise, someone answered the phone - I later found out they have night classes and so someone is there while the night classes are taking place to answer the phone. I found out that during the week (Tuesday-Friday) they take appointments and walk-ins and on Saturdays it is walk-ins only. So, I decided I would arrive there first thing when they opened so I wouldn't run the risk of having to wait a long time for a pedicure. I was, in fact, the first person to arrive for a nail treatment on Saturday. I registered at the desk and about 5-10 minutes later one of the female students came to collect me from the lobby (which was nice with really comfortable chairs) for my pedicure and manicure.

The girl's name was Jamie and she only had four months left in the program. She is a single mom of two kids, the oldest of which attends the same school as Troy. We talked about Virginia College and the services they offer there. She said that Saturday is a make-up day for the students to get in the required hours for the week if they didn't get them completed Tuesday-Friday. If the students didn't have a real-live human to work on then they worked on mannequins to pass the time. While I was there, no one else came in for a pedicure, but there were a few people in for hair services and one other girl was getting a manicure. Jamie told me that the guys who are in school there also have to get cosmetology degrees and licences because in Alabama a barber licence is no longer offered. So, the guys who just want to barber still have to learn make-up and nails. I find this to be rather funny. I don't think the guys are too fired up about it.

Jamie did a really great job on my toes and then we moved over to the manicure table. She did fairly well on my finger nails, but the toes were definitely better. She also cut me loose before my nails were completely dry and so they were messed up before I even got to my car. This is really my only complaint about the day. I knew they weren't completely dry but had really already decided to take the paint off when I got home because it wasn't as nice looking as I would have liked, but still a way better job than I could have done on my own. No doubt about that!

All in all, it was a really good experience. Jamie was really nice and the other students I met were nice too. One of the teachers was there and she inspected my toes. I'm sure she has to make sure that the students are doing a good job; not sure if they get graded each time they perform a service. I would advise that if you go, take your own polish. I meant to do this myself, but then left without it and they did not have a rack of colors to pick from, instead I told her a shade of color I was interested in and she brought a few over for me to peruse through. Also, they do not use cuticle cutters. I'm assuming this is because they do not have the proper equipment for sterilization. All of the tools Jamie used were disposable. So, the next time I go, I will take my own color and my cuticle cutters. Not sure if the students are allowed to use cuticle cutters brought in by a client, but it's worth a shot. Here is a link to the cosmetology school services and here is a link to the price list. The next time you are in need of a manicure or pedicure, or some other such service, give Virginia College a try. I think you will be pleased.